May the weak and the failures come to an end

We must even come to their aid, as was decided at the last meeting of the Round Table, the high council of Formula Oats; with the Malaria team unable to race with their damaged car, their survival would simply be a miracle.

Abbot Booth-en-train is the rector of Malaria, where he struggles to keep his stable afloat while it finds itself twenty thousand leagues under the sea.

Rajah Mallya is the rector of the only Indian stable on the board, although it is gradually becoming English and Mexican as his funds dwindle. The Wolf Tactician runs Merci l'Abbesse; behind this cheerful name lies a pragmatic leader whose pulse has been racing since his two knights began competing against each other on the track. Prince John, president of the CIA (International Oat Corporation), oversees legislation relating to the Grand Parades and is accused of favoring Fer Effaré, his former stable. PRINCE JEAN Now that we are all gathered together, it is time to address a thorny and long-ignored issue: cost reduction. (Silence…)

I see the consternation on your faces. Ha! Your expressions betray a guilty agitation: “What? Good heavens, what is this? Could our king be here to question our concessions? ” (Silence…) My brothers, a little humor never hurts. Would you believe that a vassal could impose his laws on a tyrannical lord, bowing to an amnesiac press? THE TACTICAL WOLF (laughing) Troubadour! Ah, buffoon! What of my cheekbones? Tell me, O Lord, I feared you had cut our vigorous sticks, thus shortening the vigor of good law. PRINCE JEAN Not at all, dear friend; I am indebted to you. You want to joke? Laugh in front of everyone?

Rest assured! I have brought to this table a barefoot man whom we can mock. ABBOT BOOTH-EN-TRAIN My name is Booth-en-train. I am a valiant abbot who fights day and night not to wither away, and I ask this august assembly to save Malaria, if it suits you.

PRINCE JOHN (laughing) Here is the destitute jester, who begs for alms every year, weeping, believing that we are too lenient towards the poor, hoping to steal some of our fortune. RAJAH MALLYA (rising abruptly) Enough, Prince John! Do you want a corpse? This man, Booth-en-train, guilty of poverty, delivers us an omen that we must accept. He is dead. I pity him, for I too shall soon be dead. PRINCE JOHN Come now, mighty Rajah, why all this fuss? Have you forgotten that we welcomed you into this once illegitimate brotherhood, which you now praise and defend? Is it money you lack, dear friend?

Wait a moment: have you considered that the death of the abbot and his valiant court could provide each of us with a surplus of capital? RAJAH MALLYA I need, Prince John, to replenish my purse. Tell me, I beg you, what resources we have at our disposal.

PRINCE JOHN We are talking about a few million, five or six for each of us, after retrocessions. RAJAH MALLYA If you had told me that earlier, I would not have delayed in condemning the abbot to death.

PRINCE JEAN (satisfied) We hereby condemn the Malaria stable to suffer the indignity of an unjust death. ABBÉ BOOTH-EN-TRAIN Oh, cost reduction, you are but a name!